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Chapter 2
A body that wouldn’t move the way I wanted. Babbling sounds repeating from my mouth. And then—my eyes meeting something like a mirror.
A cold, chilling sensation ran down my spine, like when you’re not sure if you locked the door properly. In that brief moment, the worst possibility flashed through my mind.
“No way… was I born as a baby right now?”
Yes. I had reincarnated.
Something I would learn later— I had been reborn as the daughter of the Lockhart Duke Family.
But then… what about my previous life?
“Did I… die? …After eating ramen and sleeping at dawn?”
Tears instantly welled up.
Could there be such a meaningless death in this world?!
“Waaaahhhhh!”
“My dear daughter, why are you suddenly crying so sadly? It’s okay, it’s okay. Priscilla, Mommy is here.”
“My lady might simply be very hungry. It is about time for her meal.”
“I see? Then… Serena, I’ll leave it to you.”
“Yes, Madam.”
“Little lady, you must be hungry, right? Come here.”
Only later would I understand— the silver-haired beautiful woman was my mother. And the woman who received me from her was my nanny.
My nanny was a baroness trusted deeply by my mother, someone who had taken care of me since birth.
I liked her very much too…
But right now… I had just realized I had been reincarnated…
“Waaahhh—!”
“She’s not feeding properly?”
“Hmm, strange. She usually eats very quickly… sometimes even a bit too aggressively.”
For a baby, feeding like this was natural. But for me, who until yesterday had the mind of a full-grown adult, even this was too much.
“Waaaah! Eeeeh!”
“Yes, yes. You’re very hungry, aren’t you?”
That’s not it! No!
I resisted with all my might. But a baby’s body could do nothing.
“You need to eat to feel full and sleep well. Come on now.”
My nanny, Serena, gently placed the milk in my mouth like a mother.
Stop! Don’t do this to me…!
“Ugh… waaah…”
“She’s eating well after all!”
“Indeed. Does it taste good, Priscilla?”
I desperately shook my head, but my mouth was already forced shut.
And then instinct took over.
My mouth moved on its own, drinking milk.
And inside, I cried.
Damn it…
…It’s too delicious.
* * *
Baby me cried a lot.
After all, there was nothing I could do except cry.
My nanny, Serena, must have had a very hard time.
Still, as I slowly accepted reality, I began my new life as Priscilla Rockhart and grew up.
At age ten—more annoying than the usual “terrible five-year-old phase”—I looked at myself in the mirror.
Silver hair that shone like silk. Purple eyes glowing like amethysts under light.
A straight nose, red lips, soft pink cheeks…
‘Yeah. This is a killer face.’
It might sound biased, but everyone who saw me—inside or outside the mansion—reacted like “Oh my God!” with admiration. So objectively, I was clearly stunning.
And on top of that, I was born as a noble lady of a duke family.
A diamond spoon in my mouth.
Only then did I realize it clearly.
I was born holding a diamond spoon in my mouth!
I almost danced from joy. The shock of my past death had faded a lot.
But I still couldn’t relax.
“Chelsea. In the North… isn’t there a cold duke with terrifying rumors?”
“Huh? I’m not sure. I’ve heard of Duke Felix’s territory in the North.”
“No duke…? Then what about him? A cold ruler of snowy northern lands or something?”
“Miss, you’re saying strange things again… The North is cold, but there’s no eternal snowfield. It doesn’t snow much in the empire.”
“Okay, so not the North…”
“What are you talking about, my lady?”
What was I doing? Checking whether this was reincarnation or possession.
Maybe I had been reincarnated into a novel.
Because I had read too many romance fantasy novels in my past life, I couldn’t stop worrying.
‘Why did I read only depressing ones… damn it!’
Why were all the male leads always in tragic stories?
I gritted my teeth in self-reflection.
What if I had possessed a character in one of those novels?
‘I finally got a diamond spoon!’
I absolutely refused to end up kidnapped or trapped in a body that couldn’t move.
In the worst cases, imprisonment endings were common in those stories.
Absolutely not.
So I started interrogating my maid, Chelsea.
“Then what about His Majesty? Is he… a tyrant or something?”
“Miss! You must not say such things! His Majesty is kind and wise, beloved by all citizens!”
“Good, good. So not a tyrant either.”
Not a cold northern duke. Not a tyrant emperor.
“Then is there a duke who wears a mask?”
“No such person exists.”
“Slave from a defeated nation?”
“There are no slaves in the empire.”
“Leader of the underworld?”
“That rumor says it’s a woman.”
“Tower master?”
“He is almost 80 years old.”
“Secret contract marriage guy?”
“That would be Albert in the garden—wait, Miss!”
I went through every cliché male lead type I knew.
And the conclusion?
Nothing matched.
Thankfully… I really had been reincarnated into a new world.
Chelsea looked exhausted from my questioning, but I ignored it.
“Miss, are you really okay…?”
“I’m perfectly fine. Thanks for helping me secure my happy future.”
“You were already strange, but today is worse…”
Chelsea muttered rudely, but I was generous today.
New world. New life.
No possession into a novel = perfect.
If I had been inside a story, I would’ve been stuck between the heroine and male lead and crushed.
Or worse, I could’ve been the villainess or heroine and doomed.
So I even checked names and rumors again carefully.
No doubt. This was a completely new world.
Beautiful face. Wealthy duke family. Loving parents. Magic in everyday life.
‘Isn’t this basically heaven?’
It was almost perfect.
But I had overlooked something.
First.
The Frazer Empire allowed religion freedom, but had a state religion.
Second.
That state religion was the Iris Church.
Third.
“…No sugar?”
The Iris Church believed food should be eaten fresh and plain, with almost no seasoning.
“Damn it…”
It was at the imperial banquet—where all food was basically plain grass—that I finally realized:
My life wasn’t shining with light…
It was sinking into darkness.
